by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

COLLEGE PARK, Md. â?? The losses. The critics. The comments his son had heard.

It had all been wearing on Maryland coach Mark Turgeon.

Twenty-four games into his second season had passed, and he hadn't gotten one of those signature wins â?? the kind coaches and fans dream of, the kind that can jumpstart a program and potentially lead a team to the NCAA tournament.

By the end of Saturday night, though, Turgeon could breathe a sigh of relief. He'd finally done it. He'd finally gotten one. Maryland had beaten No. 1 Duke, 83-81, thanks to two clutch free throws from freshman Seth Allen with 2.8 seconds left in the game.

Afterward, Turgeon couldn't hide his emotions as he spoke to reporters about the biggest win of his Terrapins tenure, a victory that came six days after an 11-point home loss to Virginia.

"It's been a hard week," Turgeon said. He paused and excused himself as he got choked up.

"I take a lot of pride in my coaching," Turgeon continued. "I don't do a lot of things well. I like to think I can coach a little bit, and I haven't done a very good job. It's been a hard week for my family. It was a hard for my son last week. He had to leave the gym because the fans were so hard on his dad. This â?? this â?? was for them.

"I know what it means to our fan base. I wanted to beat Duke. I wanted to beat Duke. This means a lot to me. I talked about it in the summer, 'God, if we beat Duke, I'm going to be in the student section. I'm going to be hanging out with the students.' This game means a lot to me. It's tough on the family. I'm really happy for them. That's why they're here tonight."

The only part Turgeon had wrong there, indeed, was that Turgeon didn't go into the student section; it came to him. Fans rushed the court immediately following Quinn Cook's missed desperation shot at the buzzer, celebrating a win that puts Maryland (18-7, 6-6 ACC) back on the NCAA tournament bubble. It is the Terps' second win against a team in the top 50 of the RPI.

The timing couldn't have been better for Maryland, either. With its impending move to the Big Ten (scheduled to take place in 2014), Maryland might have just played its last game against Duke here. The ACC has not released its schedule for next season, and the teams do not play a guaranteed home-and-home series.

The loss of Maryland-Duke to conference realignment would be disappointing for college basketball fans everywhere. The two teams have played memorable games marked by extremely hostile audiences, especially in the early 2000s.

"I have a great deal of respect for Maryland," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "If it was such a rivalry, they'd still be in the ACC. Obviously, they don't think it's that important, or they wouldn't be (going to) the Big Ten."

To pull off the upset Saturday, Maryland knew it was going to need production out of its Ukranian seven-footer, Alex Len. Duke's Mason Plumlee had gotten the best of him in their first match-up in Durham, an 84-64 Duke win on Jan. 26, and the sophomore Len said he watched plenty of film this week to prepare for the challenge of facing Plumlee again.

Turgeon encouraged Len by teasing him that he was Plumlee's little brother. Len couldn't play like his little brother again if he expected to win.

This time, in a battle of big men expected to be lottery picks in June's NBA draft, Len was the clear winner. He scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and, basically, did whatever he wanted to around the basket. Plumlee seemingly disappeared, scoring four points in the first half and missing every shot he took in the second, including two free-throw attempts. The national player of the year candidate also battled foul trouble for most of the game, fouling out in the final minute.

Afterward, Krzyzewski said Plumlee has been shouldering so much of the team's load in recent weeks, that it simply exhausted him. When Plumlee doesn't play well â?? which doesn't happen often â?? the Blue Devils simply try to "survive," Krzyzewski said.

That didn't mean his star forward wouldn't take the loss hard.

"I don't think I showed up to play today, and I let my teammates down," Plumlee said. "That's not how I've played all season."

Or Duke, either. The Blue Devils suffered just their third loss of the season, and they allowed Maryland to shoot 60% from the field in the game. The Terps, who turned the ball over 26 times, also outrebounded Duke 40-20 on the night.

Maryland's offensive attack was balanced. Len led all Terps, followed by Allen's 16 points, and five other players contributed at least seven points. After a back-and-forth first half in which there were 10 lead changes, Maryland grabbed a one-point lead heading into halftime on a Nick Faust 3-pointer. It never trailed in the second half.

Despite a late scare â?? three free throws from Duke freshman Rasheed Sulaimon that tied up the game with 16.7 seconds left, and the last-second heave from Cook â?? the Terps were able to hang on for the win.

For themselves. For their tournament chances. For their coach.

"He had a smile on his face the whole time (in the post-game locker room)," Allen said. "That one was for Coach. He wants it so much. He told us, for us to be successful, the players have to want it more than he did.

You will automatically receive the VisaliaTimesDelta.com Top 5 daily email newsletter. If you don't want to receive this newsletter, you can change your newsletter selections in your account preferences.